Sports and Tragedy

As a Yankees fan, I'll always remember the amazing run that the Yankees made after 9/11 in their quest to win their fourth consecutive world championship. The team fought back after falling into a 0-2 hole against the Oakland A's, with the defining moment being Derek Jeter's backhanded flip of an wayward throw to nab Jeremy Giambi at the home plate, preserving a slim lead in Game 3. After dispatching the historically good Seattle Mariners in the ALCS, they won two classic games in the World Series at the last at home, before losing the Series in a heartbreaking Game 7 when steroid-addled Luis Gonzales (no, I'm not bitter or anything) poked a broken-bat single over a drawn-in infield in an unlikely comeback against Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer in baseball history.

It was a great run, and much of what made it memorable was the backdrop of 9/11 and how the team's run really energized much of the city - must of this captured in the documentary "Nine Innings From Ground Zero". Then mayor Rudolph Giuliani was constantly in attendance in Yankee Stadium during the playoff run (I'm still convinced, by the way, that his lame "I'm rooting for the Red Sox in the World Series because they're in the American League" quip in 2007 nuked his Presidential ambitions. Well, maybe not) and President Bush threw out the first pitch in Game 3. The cities emotions were still raw and hearts were still healing despite the unspeakable tragedy and loss that many were feeling, but baseball somehow provided a distraction that the city could rally behind.

It's amazing, though, how cynical many people were during that run and after it. On more than one occasion, a wayward blogger or columnist would bash the very notion that the Yankees playoff run was in anyway a balm for the city. Others would criticize fans "without a horse in the race" for pulling for the city which experienced recent tragedy so close to home. The cynics sniffed, "Ridiculous, if you lost your brother when the towers went down, is the fact that the Yankees won the World Series going to mean anything to you?" Others would blast the notion as somehow equating the importance of sports to the magnitude of the tragedy the city experienced.

These sentiments completely miss the point. Of course no sporting event can replace a love one. But the reality is nothing can. Does the logic then follow then any attempt to find anything that brings happiness - however temporary - is worthless and invalid because nothing can truly reverse the loss? By that logic, people wouldn't provide gift baskets and care packages to grieving families who lose a family member - why? Food, flowers and other thoughtful items aren't going to bring daddy back. It's an idiotic notion.

So when Japan's women team won the World Cup in a thrilling championship game against the United States, the point was proved again that sports can be transcendent and lift the spirit of peoples and even nations. A theme repeated frequently during their improbable run was how this team reflected the "can do" spirit of the country and a undying commitment to persevere despite difficult circumstances. That seems appropriate for a team representing a country which suffered a tsunami this year which left more than 20,000 dead or missing and will need to endure the consequences of a nuclear meltdown of own of its reactors.

Love them or hate them, there's something about sports that can touch the soul of a community of people. What we saw this past weekend was certainly a positive example of how national pride can, at least for a period of time, bring well needed joy and relief to a country which has been short on good news.